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“Same-market, same-event type comparison” here means we’re looking at the estimated tickets distributed (from WrestleTix), and comparing that number against the last time the same event type was in that market. For example, in the first line below, we’re comparing Smackdown in New York, NY (on July 7, 2023) against the last time Smackdown was in New York, NY (on September 10, 2021). This is the most meaningful way I’ve found to assess live event business. It allows us to avoid problems with comparing different markets to one another (e.g., New York, NY tends to have bigger crowds than Huntsville, AL) and different event types (e.g., PPVs draw better than Raw or Smackdown, which draw better than house shows). This means that not every event from Q3 2023 will be used in the analysis below. For example, All In in London was held on August 27 in front of one of the biggest crowds in wrestling history. Since it was the first PPV event — and actually the first of any event type — in London, there’s no same-market, same-event type comparison to make. All In’s estimated tickets distributed number (83,131), however, is factored into the charts below showing AEW’s total and average tickets distributed for the quarter.

WWE: same-market, same-event type comparisons for Q3 2023 (Jul to Sep 2023)

+4% on 7/7/2023 in New York, NY for Smackdown: 13,617 (from 13,132 on 9/10/2021)
+34% on 7/10/2023 in Buffalo, NY for Raw: 9,905 (from 7,380 on 4/18/2022)
+30% on 7/14/2023 in Raleigh, NC for Smackdown: 11,803 (from 9,057 on 8/12/2022)
+59% on 7/15/2023 in Fairfax, VA for House show: 6,782 (from 4,271 on 5/1/2022)
-2% on 7/16/2023 in Salisbury, MD for House show: 3,700 (from 3,761 on 8/13/2022)
+46% on 7/21/2023 in Orlando, FL for Smackdown: 12,287 (from 8,397 on 7/15/2022)
+41% on 7/24/2023 in Tampa, FL for Raw: 12,612 (from 8,955 on 7/18/2022)
+25% on 7/28/2023 in New Orleans, LA for Smackdown: 8,200 (from 6,555 on 10/14/2022)
+26% on 7/29/2023 in Estero, FL for House show: 4,948 (from 3,918 on 7/16/2022)
+24% on 7/31/2023 in Houston, TX for Raw: 12,921 (from 10,445 on 8/1/2022)
+4% on 8/19/2023 in Ottawa, ON for House show: 4,887 (from 4,680 on 8/20/2022)
+9% on 8/20/2023 in Laval, QC for House show: 7,012 (from 6,419 on 3/6/2022)
+36% on 8/26/2023 in Cape Girardeau, MO for House show: 3,482 (from 2,561 on 6/11/2022)
+23% on 8/27/2023 in Huntsville, AL for House show: 4,548 (from 3,702 on 1/8/2023)
+39% on 8/28/2023 in Memphis, TN for Raw: 7,377 (from 5,296 on 12/6/2021)
+2% on 9/1/2023 in Hershey, PA for Smackdown: 8,807 (from 8,595 on 2/25/2022)
+10% on 9/4/2023 in Charlotte, NC for Raw: 8,299 (from 7,570 on 10/24/2022)
+41% on 9/8/2023 in Boston, MA for Smackdown: 11,776 (from 8,351 on 7/22/2022)
+16% on 9/10/2023 in Charlottesville, VA for House show: 3,941 (from 3,389 on 3/27/2022)
+5% on 9/11/2023 in Norfolk, VA for Raw: 7,447 (from 7,121 on 11/28/2022)
+18% on 9/17/2023 in Boise, ID for House show: 5,468 (from 4,638 on 2/6/2022)
+90% on 9/24/2023 in Fresno, CA for House show: 8,197 (from 4,321 on 9/25/2022)

Average difference: +26% Positive cases: 21 Negative cases: 1

AEW: same-market, same-event type comparisons for Q3 2023 (Jul to Sep 2023)

+148% on 7/19/2023 in Boston, MA for Dynamite: 8,956 (from 3,609 on 11/9/2022)
-12% on 7/26/2023 in Albany, NY for Dynamite: 3,367 (from 3,805 on 9/14/2022)
-22% on 8/9/2023 in Columbus, OH for Dynamite: 4,231 (from 5,427 on 8/3/2022)
-4% on 8/16/2023 in Nashville, TN for Dynamite: 4,700 (from 4,891 on 2/16/2022)
+5% on 8/23/2023 in Duluth, GA for Dynamite: 5,343 (from 5,096 on 7/20/2022)
-41% on 8/30/2023 in Hoffman Estates, IL for Dynamite: 3,746 (from 6,301 on 8/31/2022)
-52% on 9/2/2023 in Chicago, IL for Collision: 4,493 (from 9,280 on 6/17/2023)
-36% on 9/3/2023 in Chicago, IL for PPV: 9,826 (from 15,426 on 6/26/2022)
-16% on 9/6/2023 in Indianapolis, IN for Dynamite: 3,006 (from 3,572 on 11/30/2022)
-44% on 9/13/2023 in Cincinnati, OH for Dynamite: 2,667 (from 4,740 on 10/18/2022)
-15% on 9/20/2023 in Flushing, NY for Dynamite: 11,263 (from 13,321 on 9/21/2022)
-31% on 9/27/2023 in Broomfield, CO for Dynamite: 2,922 (from 4,229 on 12/28/2022)